Kingdom Hearts: Another Side
by TerraClearwater
Summary: My first shot at a multi-OC fanfic! Looks at the events of Kingdom Hearts from a different point of view! I promise you'll like it! Don't hate till you read!
1. Chapter without a Snappy title

**Aaaaaaw yeeeah! Man! Fourth fanfic, I am on a roll here! Oh, don't look at me like that. All of my other fanfics WILL be completed, (enentually) so "Pokemon and Snickers Bars" and "Fowl Babysitting" readers, don't you fret! I'll be back to those as soon as I get my own laptop!**

**You know, this is chock-full of OC's. I hope you like them—I went out of my way to make sure they weren't Mary-Sue-ish in the least. Now, I know that this is only the first chapter, but I'd still like to see lots of feedback on the characters! Which ones do you like the most? The least? Anything would be helpful!**

**And, by the way, the theme song for this story would be Sanctuary. It's not very romantic, so Simple and Clean wouldn't be appropriate. And, as a helpful note, right now, this is taking place during the time of Birth by Sleep. That would probably be helpful to know, hm?**

**Now…enjoy!**

Darkness as far as the eye could see, broken only by tiny glints of light that sparkled and shined above. Sometimes they moved, ever so slightly, and sometimes they changed color. At times they even grew or shrank. But they were always, always there.

It was under this reliable sky that Ashley Carter had grown up under. To her, it was a small comfort. In a world that was ever changing, the sky and its stars remained something that she could always look at with fond memories.

"Hey, Ashley,"

The strawberry blonde girl broke her gaze from the sky at her friend Elizabeth's voice. "Hm?"

Elizabeth nodded her curly-haired head towards the path before them. "We take the south side, remember?"

"Right, right. Sorry."

Elizabeth put a finger to her lips and silently motioned for them to move forward.

There was a mission to complete.

**Scene Change!**

"Stephan."

"Sh."

"Stephan…"

"_Sh_."

"Steeephannnnn…"

"SH!"

` "But _Stephan_, we've been squatting here for _hours_."

Stephan, a tall, thin boy with a head of neatly combed dirty blonde hair looked sharply at the red-headed girl beside him. "Michelle," He sighed exasperatedly, "We've only been here for about fifteen minutes."

Michelle crossed her arms, squirming. "It _feels_ like it's been hours…" She grumbled.

"Well, it hasn't been. Now, be quiet and keep a sharp lookout." With that, he looked back out from behind the boulder they hid behind.

Michelle sniffed. "I'm hungry…"

"_What_ did I say about being quiet?"

"Oh, _fine_." Michelle relented as she, too, peered from behind the boulder.

Back to watching.

**Scene Change!**

"Ah. I'm hungry. I can't wait to finish and have dinner," Piper Dodgeson, a somewhat short girl with golden brown hair and large brown eyes yawned. "What about you, Momo?"

The quick strikes of chalk on a board were heard, and the slightly shorter dark skinned girl beside Piper flipped her slate around to reveal her reply: "Yeah, I'm starved. And DON'T call me Momo."

Piper stretched, reaching into the sky, her hands barely reaching the height of the bush they stood behind. "Oh, Momiji, you know I'm not going to stop. Think of it as a symbol of affection. You'd think you'd be used to it. I mean, I've been calling you that since we were eight."

Momiji rolled her eyes, her hands busy completing the braid she was making in her deep azure hair.

Piper smiled. "Got your lucky charm?"

Her face breaking out into a smile of her own, Momiji nodded, taking a small, yet elaborately made dream catcher out of her sash.

Piper nodded. "Good," She looked out into the night. "We just might need it."

**Scene Change!**

"I'm telling you," Hikari held out her left hand, "When dodge rolling, you have to hold you _left_ hand out, and use it to transfer you weight and use it as a leverage to regain your balance." She flicked her honey-highlighted brown hair. "You can't use you keyblade arm, that's _stupid_…"

"Well, that's how _I_ do it," Serena, her partner for the night as they held their post at the north side of the courtyard retorted. "I don't get why it's such an issue with you, anyway…"

"Not just me!" Hikari replied. "Master Archard has been trying to teach you this for _months_, but have you listened? No!"

"I don't need to know how to dodge roll the right way to use my keyblade…"

"Exactly! That's _exactly_ the sort of attitude that holds you back!" Hikari exclaimed. "Using a keyblade isn't just about _offense_, you know. You can't just charge in and attack! You've got to use technique!"

"I don't need you to yell at me, Hik—" Suddenly Serena stopped short, brushing her dark brown hair away from her ear. "Did you hear that? That hiss?"

Hikari nodded. "That means only one thing"

The two girls faced the dark courtyard. "They're here."

**Scene Change!**

The central courtyard of Heart's Earth was a large circular space, paved with smooth, polished mosaic tiles depicting a black keyhole. An ornately designed fountain stood in its center. Shrubbery and bushes encircled the yard, giving it a cut off, secluded feel. On most nights, the courtyard was a good place to be alone, when peace and quiet was desired.

Tonight, this was…not the case.

Fog slowly filled the courtyard, spread so thick that it was impossible to see through it. Flashes of light emanated from its depths, from green to blue to red, allowing shadows of twisted, deformed creatures to be seen. They seemed to be performing a primitive dance, twisting and bending as they multiplied.

The fog then grew dark, and the shadows disappeared. The fog thinned, and from it crawled around four dozen lanky, spidery blue and black creatures, with long limbs and glowing yellow eyes. Like wolves, they moved from the center of the courtyard outward, slowly and methodically.

Hunting.

**Scene Change!**

"Come on. There they are, there's like fifty Unversed out there. We've just got to—" Serena began, gripping her bright red, flame embellished keyblade.

"No!' Hikari snapped, shaking her head. "Momiji has to give us the signal!"

"And how's she going to do that? She can't talk!"

"She's going to whistle, duh."

"Whatever. I'm tired of this. I wanna fight!" And with that, Serena bounded forward, into the throng of Unversed.

Hikari swore. There was no debating. She had to go after her.

Summoning her own keyblade, a red model lined with white that featured a unique hilt of motorcycle handlebars, she raced after her friend.

**Scene Change!**

She could already tell it was going to be a long night.

"What? Why is Serena out there already?" Stephan inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Serena?" Michelle immediately rushed to look.

"Yeah, and Hikari…"

"I gotta go help Serena!" Michelle said, starting forward.

Stephan grabbed her arm, holding her back. "No! She's breaking the rules, we're not supposed to go till Momiji signals…"

Michelle scowled at him, then yanked her arm out of his grip and ran off.

Stephan sighed. "She forgot to summon her keyblade…again…" He muttered as he summoned his own rare double-edged keyblade, one end decorated with flames, the other with ice.

He then rushed into the chaos.

**Scene Change!**

"What the Hell—"

Heck."

"Sorry Ashley, _heck_, are Serena and Hikari doing out there?" Elizabeth asked, frowning.

"Stephan and Michelle, too…" Ashley noticed.

"Them, too? Ugh!" Elizabeth summoned her keyblade, a long, iron design, with no decoration and a blank, simple star dangling from the keychain. "Are they stupid? Don't they know we're supposed to wait for Momiji? It's no use, now! We've _got_ to go help them!"

Ashley nodded, summoning her yellow and green sunflower-themed keyblade.

The two girls bounded forward.

**Scene Change!**

Momiji sighed, leaning against a lamp post. She and Piper had emerged from behind the bushes long ago, and were now watching their fellow keyblade wielders rush into battle.

"Weren't _you_ supposed to give the signal?" Piper asked casually.

Momiji nodded.

"So…what should we do?"

Momiji scribbled on her slate for a moment, then revealed her message, "I dunno. I'm considering just sitting here and watching them."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "And let _them_ have all the fun?"

The two girls held each other's gaze for a moment.

Then Momiji gave her best cab whistle, and they both summoned their keyblades and joined the fight.

**Scene Change!**

"Serena!" Michelle exclaimed as she approached her friend.

"Michelle, where the Hell is your keyblade?" Serena demanded, disintegrating one of the Unversed with her own keyblade.

"What? Oh, right," Michelle stared firmly at her empty hand for a moment, and eventually a dark grey keyblade, reminiscent of a skeleton key, appeared in her grip.

"What the Hell—"

"Heck!" Ashley called.

"—Are you guys doing?" Elizabeth finished. "We were supposed to wait for Momiji's signal!"

"I _know_ that!" Hikari shouted as she finished off another Unversed. "But _Serena_—"

"And _Michelle_," Stephan added as he passed.

"—Decided to just jump in!"

"I can't _believe_ you guys would start the party without us!" Piper put in teasingly as she slid in, taking out an approaching Unversed.

"Not our fault!" Stephan and Hikari exclaimed in unison.

Momiji rolled her eyes, grinning as she blasted an Unversed with a ball of fiery magic.

'All right,' Though Piper, 'So they missed the signal. I guess it isn't so bad, as long as nothing else—"

Michelle then cried out, "My keyblade!" As her weapon flickered out of sight. She stood frozen where she was, her eyes wide with fear as she watched the Unversed begin to crowd around her, having sensed her vulnerability.

"Dammit!" Piper grunted as she made a break for her friend, rolling as she slashed through Unversed. "Michelle! You told us you had solved that problem!"

"It only happens sometimes! Not even that much!" Michelle protested. "Not even that much! You can't _blame_ me—" Her statement was cut off by a large Unversed tackling her from behind.

"Michelle!" Piper went to run to her friend, but was intercepted by yet another Unversed. "Agh! Ashley, can you—"

"On it! Wind!" Ashley exclaimed, holding her keyblade aloft, creating a whisking shield of air that encircled her body completely. She plowed through the crown of Unversed, burning and freezing them away. The ones she missed bounced off her wind shield. She eventually made it to Michelle, and pried off the attacking Unversed. "Run for cover, Michelle! Do it now!"

As Michelle ran for cover, Elizabeth looked around. "They're multiplying!"

"How can you tell?" Hikari grunted as she froze then disintegrated another Unversed.

"Because I _know_ that I just killed like ten of them within the last few minutes, and the number _still_ hasn't gone down!"

"Oh, _great…_"

Stephan slid in, knocking and Unversed off its feet, then promptly finishing it off. He wiped the sweat from his brow. "So what do we do?"

"Uh…I dunno!" Elizabeth held up her hands in defense. "We never came up with a battle plan!"

"You mean the battle plan we _would_ have had if _Serena_ hadn't just rushed in?" Hikari asked pointedly.

"Hey! This _isn't_ my fault!" Serena protested as she ran by.

"Well, we've got to do something!" Hikari said, blasting another Unversed. "We're going to run out of energy soon! We can't fight forever!"

"Okay!" Piper suddenly exclaimed, "Everyone, try to kill at least ten Unversed, right now! Ten OR MORE, you hear? GO!"

All the young keyblade wielders (with the exception of Michelle) then proceeded to go on a, well, killing spree. Ten each was easy enough, and within minutes the deed was done and the courtyard was once again Unversed-free.

Elizabeth wiped her brow with an air of satisfaction. "Whew! Glad that's over!"

Suddenly, Piper groaned, grimacing. "Oh, no…"

"What's wrong?" Ashley inquired.

"Someone _always_ says that _right_ before something horrible happens…"

Sure enough, right after the last syllable of her sentence was pronounced, a loud, dense thump was heard from behind the group of teenagers. The keyblade wielders slowly turned around to find…

…The biggest Unversed they had ever seen, standing easily over two stories tall.

"See? I told you," Piper said weakly.

The Unversed let out an enormous roar that shook the earth. It seemed to sway under its own weight, examining its surroundings.

Ashley stared, open-mouthed, in horror. "Angels of grace, have mercy on us," She whispered.

Momiji held up her slate, which read, "Crap", summing up Ashley's statement in a word.

"All right, all right, don't panic, " Elizabeth held her hands up, not taking her eyes from the giant. "Does anyone have a plan?"

Her words were met with silence. Even Piper, who typically had not only plans A, B, and C, but the rest of the alphabet, too, was met speechless.

Elizabeth sighed. "All right. Let's just…attack it."

There was a general murmur of approval, and soon, everyone was fervently hacking at the Unversed's feet.

"Ugh…we're not…going to…do it…" Stephan managed through his teeth.

"Yes…we…will…" Hikari replied from beside him.

"No, you won't," A new voice boomed from behind them. A dark figure, his face hidden by shadows, rushed before them, placing himself between the Unversed and the teens, who had instinctively jumped back.

In a quick movement, the figure summoned a black, rustic rod-iron keyblade, turning it swiftly and murmuring a chant.

"Judgment!" He shouted, and a blinding light flashed, flooding the courtyard with white.

As it faded, the teens saw that all that was left of the giant Unversed was a pile of fine purple dust.

The courtyard was quite once more.

Sighing, the robed man stooped over, scooping up a handful of the glittery dust. Letting it run through his fingers, he looked at the teens.

The young keyblade weilders, including Michelle, who had scurried forward, bowed their heads solemnly.

"Master Archard," They murmured.

Master Archard sighed once more. "That's enough for tonight, kids. Let's go inside.

**So, what d'you think? Sorry about the Scene Change! thing…I can't break up the chapter with spaces for some reasons…^/^**


	2. Master Archard

**Okay, chapter two up! Yeah, I know I need to work on Pokemon and Snickers Bars, but I haven't been able to do that. I decided to post the second chapter of this instead! So, enjoy (hopefully…)**

** Oh yes…and I don't own shit. Just sayin'. If I owned Square Soft/Enix, KH III would be out by now.**

Every couch in the meeting room was full. Momiji and Ashley occupied the ugly flower printed one that no one but them was polite enough to sit on. Stephan and Hikari occupied the deep brown one, perfect for the tall boy's long legs. Elizabeth and Piper sat on the white one, and Michelle and Serena had taken the red one. The meeting room didn't have any sort of theme or color scheme. That wasn't what a meeting room was for, anyway. The only thing that each of the couches had in common was that they all sat in a 'U', facing a black leather recliner.

Master Archard sat there, a cup of strong coffee in his hands. Though rather young for a teacher (only thirty years old) he was still quite a powerful Keyblade Master. Having completed the Mark of Mastery ten years ago, thus completing his own training, he already had ten years of teaching under his belt. It had almost come to a shock to him all those years ago, how only six months after his graduation, he was assigned students to be placed under his care.

At the time, he had considered it to be the worst graduation present ever.

Now, even he couldn't deny that he genuinely cared about these kids…even if they did give him migraines daily…

"All right," he sighed, putting down his coffee on the table before him. "Can you tell me what went wrong?"

Hikari sniffed. "_I_ can," She pointed to Serena accusingly. "_Serena_ attacked without being the signal. Again."

"That had _nothing_ to do with not being able to kill the big one." Said Serena defensively.

"We might have been able to come up with a plan if you hadn't jumped out there!"

"I think we should have come up with a plan _before_ we went out there." Ashley pointed out.

"Agreed," Stephen put in.

"The reason why I sent you out in pairs was because I _wanted_ you to learn how to improvise. So the 'plan' part is clearly not the issue." Master Archard said, stroking his chin.

Serena exhaled in relief. "See, I _told_ you…"

"_But_," Master Archard held up a finger. "That's no excuse for you to run into battle recklessly. What were you _thinking_, Serena? You could have gotten yourself hurt. You could have hurt everyone else."

"I…I dunno. I guess I was just…lost in the moment…" Serena stammered.

"Well, you have to keep working on that. Show patience, Serena. Missions will be safer _and_ more effective that way. Understood?"

Serena looked at her hands in her lap. "Yes, Master."

"Good. Now, just because _Serena_ rushes into the battle doesn't mean everyone _else,_" He looked pointedly at Michelle. "Can just run in after her."

Michelle crossed her arms. "I wanted to help Serena!"

"Yes, you _wanted _to. You didn't _need_ to."

"Hikari went after her!"

"Yes, because as Serena's partner, Hikari _did_ need to rush in after her. It was her duty as her partner.

Michelle pouted. "It's not fair…"

"Life's not fair. Life's not forgiving." Replied Master Archard. "And that goes for the rest of you. The rest of you could have—and _should _have—waited for Momiji's signal. But that's not the main problem here." He paused to sip his coffee. "No, the _real_ problem is that you girls—"

Stephan cleared his throat.

"—and _Stephan_," Amended Master Archard, "Can't seem to work together as a team. Don't you know how _crucial_ that skill is? With efficient teamwork, anything can be overcome. So I want you to work on that from now on." He leaned back in his seat. "Now, Michelle, Stephan, I want you to start dinner. Ashley and Serena, you can set the table. As for the _rest of you_," He added as the students in question began to stand. "I'd like a word."

As the others exited the room, Momiji, Piper, Elizabeth, and Hikari moved to seats closer to their teacher.

There was half a minute of silence. The four girls shifted uncomfortably, awkwardly glancing from each other to around the room to their teacher. Master Archard held the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, his eyes squeezed shut.

Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at his students. "Look, girls, I know what you're going to say. 'It wasn't our fault…'"

"It wasn't!" Exclaimed Hikari.

"But that doesn't mean you don't hold responsibility."

"Don't hold responsibility" Well, of _course_ we don't hold responsibility!" Elizabeth sat forward in her seat. "It's not our fault that we have to work with—no offense meant to them, Master Archard, I'm just speaking the truth—complete _amateurs"_!

"They are not amateurs. They have all been through as much training as you have." Master Archard said firmly.

"They haven't completed the Mark of Mastery exam yet. They're not even close. In this field, that equals mediocrity."

"And I suppose that because you four _have_ completed and passed the Mark of Mastery, that makes you _not_ amateurs?"

"Well, frankly, yes, Master Archard!"

Her eyes closed, Piper silently raised her hand to speak.

Master Archard rolled his eyes, sighing. "_Y_es_, _Piper?" He asked in an exasperated tone.

Opening her caramel brown eyes and pointing at her teacher, Piper beseeched. "Master Archard. I just want to let you know. That _I_," she placed her hand on her chest, "Did nothing wrong. Nothing at all. You see, _I,_" she emphasized again, "actually _waited_ for Momiji's signal. That's right. So I hold, no responsibility for anything. I followed directions." And then, after a moment of thought, she added, "Oh, and Momiji, too."

"Piper, Momiji _gave_ the signal. You were _with_ her."

"I know. And that's why neither of us hold responsibility." She crossed her legs in a dignified way. "And that's all I have to say."

Master Archard closed his eyes, massaging his temples. "Listen, girls," he finally said, opening his green eyes, "You're all resourceful. You're all talented. And most importantly, you're all smart. The four of you can go far in life, farther than you think. Hikari, your understanding of technique will take you places you've never even dreamt of. Momiji, you may not be able to speak for yourself," He shook his head, "But I'll be damned if your words aren't heard by millions one day. Elizabeth, you have the potential to change the way people think for the better. And Piper," He shook his head, a crooked grin on his face, "Call me crazy, but I can't think of anyone I'd rather have run this school when I'm gone."

The four girls exchanged glances, each experiencing a strange mixture of pride and confusion. After all, Master Archard wasn't typically a heart-to-heart kind of person. He'd rather let the students fight out any problems they were having, unless it directly involved him. He never just dished out compliments. As it was, his students weren't sure how to react to this.

Exhaling through his nose, Master Archard took another sip of his coffee.

"What I'm trying to say is, yes, you're gifted. But take those abilities of yours and use them to make a change for the better, all right? The better."

Her brow furrowed, Hikari spoke quietly. "Master Archard? Are you all right?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well…" Elizabeth licked her lips. "You're acting a little strange tonight, Master."

"More so than usual." Piper put in.

Momiji nodded fervently in agreement.

"I mean, you almost seem…_worried_ about something." Hikari went on. "Is…everything all right?"

Master Archard opened his mouth to speak, then stopped himself, closing it. He silently locked eyes with each of his students.

Taking a deep breath, he finally said, "It's nothing, girls. Nothing is wrong. Remember, you all may technically be Keyblade Masters, but you're still students. There are still scores of things that you have never experienced…and, if you're lucky, you'll never have to." He stood up, coffee in hand. "Now, I'll see you at dinner. Meeting adjourned." And with that, he exited the room.

Like balloons deflating, all four girls slouched in relief.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth said almost breathlessly, "_Wow._ That was _tense_."

A few chalk strokes later, Momiji's board read, "I thought the air would _snap_, it was so tense in here."

"No kidding!" Hikari exclaimed. "The last time Master Archard sat us down for a serious conversation…God, I think it was when we were thirteen and we found that Penthouse magazine under his bed!"

Halfway into a yawn, Piper grinned. "I remember that day. It was _very_ interesting."

"But it wasn't even that serious, as he was blushing and sputtering the whole time." Elizabeth pointed out.

"Yeah, it was pretty funny, actually…"

"The point is, something is wrong." Elizabeth continued. "And he's not telling us what it is."

"I wonder…" Hikari said musingly, stretching her arms.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence.

Then, clapping her hands, Piper broke it, saying, "Well, I'm hungry. Who else is hungry? Anyone? Well, Unless my nose is mistaken, dinner is served. Let's head out, ladies."

**Wow. Second chapter done. How about that? Well, I want to let everyone know that I accept anonymous reviews…*hint hint*.**


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